There is nothing like seeing a model of an everyday piece of railroad equipment from a particular railroad You may have grown up with in H.O Scale.

Fellow club member Gary at The Oak Park Society of Model Engineers, owns this Centrailia Car Shops model of an Illinois Central Gulf Railroad side door caboose.

I grew up approximately one mile north of the former Illinois Central Railroad's Iowa Division Mainline in My old near southwest side Chicago neighborhood, and recall seeing this particular model almost daily on this line during the 1970's and 8o's era.

Aside from a few preserved examples I have seen at railroad museums, wich are painted in the original and very plain Illinois Central red color scheme, I was delighted to see this bright orange 1970's era Illinois Central Gulf side door caboose , just like the ones I had grown up seeing in Chicago many years ago.As I recall....they weren't very bright and colorful by the early to mid 1980's, as many were becoming quiete faded and weather beaten by then.

Gary is a former employee of the Illinois Central Gulf, and His knowledge and supervision is a blessing when the club holds their occasional "Special Operating Session" or "OPS" nights.